Any prosperous business owes its success to a combination of factors, but one of the essential ingredients is the work performed by the employees. Of course, competitive products and services are the backbone, but if you don’t have a good team of people backing them up, the chances of success are slim.

In part one of our series, we took you through the process of turning a HARO inquiry into content, testimonials, and reviews as a unique method of gaining feedback from your customers. In part two, we went to the experts to find out their unique ways of gathering feedback.

Lately, the idea of the ‘side hustle’, a part-time hobby that can be monetized, has been taking off with enterprising and budding entrepreneurs. Those who enjoy a full-time but perhaps not emotionally or financially fulfilling 9-5 job are turning to online marketplaces like eBay or Etsy to sell their crafts. Similarly, those whose full-time gigs aren’t very challenging are taking on content writing and research in their spare time.

Knowing how users interact with your brand and how they feel about your business, in general, is critical to implementing changes to increase your customer lifetime value. Is there a specific feature they need, want, or hate? Does your logo throw them off? Is your customer service subpar? It’s easy to guesstimate how your users feel, but getting raw data from multiple sources is infinitely better.

Millennials are making waves. As a generation, they are redefining what a successful career is, with a focus on flexible and fulfilling work, and millennials are not afraid to make financial sacrifices in order to stay true to these values. With this in mind, combined with the fact that many millennial men and women are unable to find desirable jobs upon entering the workforce, it’s no surprise that entrepreneurship appeals to many millennials.

Do marketing agencies take on the personalities of their founders? In my experience with marketing agencies, I’ve noticed that an agency’s persona tends to echo the personality of the founder. When I began searching for confirmation of this observation, the internet failed me. There were no conclusive studies on this topic. So, I did the next best thing and went to the agencies, themselves. I interviewed 70 different agencies, and 66 out of the 70 confirmed my hypothesis. Whether it was an SEO agency, creative agency, web design agency, or full-funnel marketing agency – the answers were much the same:

Looking to start your 2019 business year right and increase your productivity levels? Then you’ve come to the right place. Being efficient in your work is one of the best ways to scale up, both in your personal and business life. In other words, if you truly want to get better at a subject or improve your business – you should be focusing on the quality of your work, and not the quantity. There are many different productivity techniques and ways to increase your efficiency, but at the end of the day, it’s all about your singular focus. Being able to channel your laser focus into one task at a time is one of the best ways to get more things done. And if you want to learn other ways to increase your efficiency in 2019 – be sure to read on.

I interviewed 121 entrepreneurs to find out what the most loved marketing tools are for startups. And while I wasn’t surprised to see Slack, MailChimp, Instagram, or Ahrefs on the list, some of the tools mentioned or not-mentioned did surprise me.

When she was younger, Eleanor assumed she’d be living comfortably on a combination of her husband’s pension and social security when she was 75. Instead, she relies on the assistance programs, and the local food bank and Meals on Wheels program for meals. Eleanor has to budget every penny, and if it weren’t for help, she wouldn’t be able to cover the costs of medication, utilities, groceries, and housing. Her husband—who’s gone now—lost his job before he was fully vested in his pension, and her social security checks don’t cover her living expenses.

Since 2006, TOMS has been a popular name when the discussion turns to brands that support social causes. TOMS' social cause is more than providing footwear -- it includes initiatives to help provide clean water, eyewear, medical procedures and safe births, local jobs, education and training. It's a robust business model that has helped the company achieve success.

It begs the question: In the digital age, do companies need a social cause to thrive?

The advent of cloud storage has surfaced the easiest and most cost-effective data storage options for businesses in recent years. It’s no longer entirely necessary for organizations to invest in resource heavy, on-premise or remote storage space to house data. And that can alleviate a lot of strain on the wallet for a business, especially for small-to-medium companies.

Julie and her husband work full time and are solidly in the middle class. Their paychecks cover their bills and a few extras, and they consider themselves comfortable. But they would spiral into financial ruin if they had any unexpected large expenses, like a medical emergency. That’s because, like many Americans, they have zero money saved.

The other day, I found out a friend of mine only brushes his teeth once a day. I was shocked. How could this good-looking, intelligent, charming guy only brush his teeth once a day?! Had he not heard the twice-a-day thing that I’d been hearing (and obeying) my entire life?

For some former professional athletes, the hard work and dedication doesn’t end when they decide to retire their number. The world has no shortage of former athletes turned entrepreneurs that made a name for themselves after they’ve left the field. From former-boxer George Foreman’s line of cooking products to Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach’s real estate firm, professional athletes have proven time and again they have the grit and gumption to be successful once their athletic career is over.

Two years ago, Lauren was pretty happy—and busy—with her career and personal life, but felt like something was missing. When she read a local news story about a program that matched mentors with people pulling themselves out of poverty, something clicked. She started volunteering with the Circles program, and it changed her life, and the lives of people in her community.

So you’ve decided to open a dental office. Congratulations! You are part of a robust community of almost 29 million small-business owners who opened their doors to new customers last year. Although it’s tempting to separate oneself as a dentist rather than a small-business owner, the truth is, the principles necessary to succeed in small business apply to a dental practice as well.

Sandra and John have struggled financially for their entire lives. But things got worse for them after they had a child. Without any savings, the medical bills from the birth buried them so deep that they couldn’t keep up with credit card bills or rent. And they depended on the local food bank and WIC to keep food in the fridge. That’s when they decided they needed help. They wanted to give their daughter something they never had — a role model for financial responsibility. So they got involved in a free financial literacy course taught by a nonprofit agency in their community and learned the skills they needed to get on their feet and stay there.

It’s been just over a month since wildfires scorched more than one million acres of Northern California’s wine country, destroying almost 9000 homes, killing 43 people, and changing the lives of its residents forever.

Investing is a gamble. In 2000, Fortune published “10 Stocks to Last the Decade”; by August 2014, the suggested portfolio (which included Enron) had an average return of -59 percent. Hindsight may be 20/20, but that’s not a clarity you can afford when you’re just starting out.

Change can happen in any industry and comes in many forms: political, regulatory, social and technological. Change can be challenging to navigate. It also presents itself as an opportunity for leaders who know how to adapt and recognize it, even when it’s controversial.

How can business leaders spot the difference between courting controversy and gettin